


in the halls that we once walked through

by hanryang



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Drabble, I wrote this instead of studying for a quiz, Light Angst, M/M, idk what to tag, some drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28606488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanryang/pseuds/hanryang
Summary: This was not how Jeonghan planned to spend his Friday night.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan
Kudos: 5





	in the halls that we once walked through

**Author's Note:**

> unedited because editing is a chore my lazy ass can't be bothered to do

This was not how Jeonghan planned to spend his Friday night.

The twenty-something year old was cooped up in his shabby worn-down couch all wrapped up in a rather thin blanket (thick blankets are expensive mind you) that could only do so much to shield him from the cold burrito style. The weather forecast said it’ll be an exceptionally cold evening today with light snow. The heater broke down some time last month and he hadn’t bothered to get it fixed.

It’s not like being a student in debt slash super villain who terrorizes the city for the hell of it in his free time slash being a gasoline boy pays enough to hire a handyman. He tried fixing it himself and upon grabbing the screw driver, he had contemplated his choices and decided to spare his heater of his obvious lack of experience when it comes to repairing.

There’s a cheesy telenovela playing in the old television and an empty ramen cup sitting on the coffee table right next to the cluster of notebooks and the remote control.

Jeonghan can already feel himself slowly slipping away to the land of dreams, his eyes drooping. The sound of a couple yelling at each other coming from the television but it’s nothing but light buzzing in his ears, lulling him.

That is until he hears a knock on his door and it was loud enough to pull him back to the land of the living in a jolt. He spends a few seconds contemplating if he should stand and answer the door. It might be something of very little importance and he could afford the luxury of not having to stand and getting exposed to the cold.

He hears the knock again, this time a bit insistent. Clicking his tongue in irritation, he throws the blanket off his body and trudged to the door while his mind was running a thousand miles a second thinking of ways to commit murder with only the thin blanket he is armed with and places to dispose the body without suspicion.

He settles with strangulation and the abandoned dumpster in the desolated part of the suburbs.

Without even bothering to look at the peephole to see the fucker who dared to disturb his slumber, he throws open the door rather aggressively. His face now equipped with the meanest glare he has (one that never fails to scare the shit out of someone who dared cross Yoon Jeonghan)but it disappears along the wind when his eyes landed on one shivering, bleeding,  _ scared _ Seungcheol.

Choi Seungcheol, the city’s hero. The person who never failed to save the city from the people who bring unnecessary evil and terror to the city - people like Jeonghan himself.

This is one  _ big _ surprise. (Jeonghan doesn’t even like surprises.)

“Why…” Jeonghan begins, his voice barely audible, as he eyes Seungcheol’s state. He’s bruised and broken, and he’s staring at Jeonghan like he’s his last resort to salvation. “Why are you here?”

His thoughts about strangulation and homicide are gone as quick as they have appeared and it was replaced by thoughts questioning why Choi Seungcheol -- of all people -- is right here on his doorstep.

_ Fate, if you’re playing my life like it’s one big cruel joke, fuck you. Sincerely. _

Seungcheol looks like he got mauled and he’s seconds away from passing out. Still, he looks up at Jeonghan with those big eyes of his that seemed to always hold too much kindness in them but now it looks so empty - frighteningly so.

What he says next caused Jeonghan’s brows to rise. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

He collapses into the other man’s arms promptly after.

───

Taking in an unconscious and wounded superhero (your nemesis for fuck’s sake!) into his humble crowded apartment to tend on his injuries without even knowing why the fuck he’s there in the first place was not in Jeonghan’s itinerary.

Minutes away from four am and yet here Jeonghan was, holding an ice pack to Seungcheol’s bruised cheek as he snoozes away on his uncomfortable couch. Why not the bed, one might ask, since it’s more comfortable. Trust Jeonghan, he’d totally put him out of the misery of having sore back muscles the moment he wakes up, if only Jeonghan actually owns a bed in the first place. Too bad he doesn’t - just a sofa bed but that sofa bed is already out the picture.

Seungcheol stirs and Jeonghan retracts his hand, putting the ice pack on the coffee table.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

He sees the other man blink a few times, looking a bit disoriented, probably confused by the unfamiliar setting. When his eyes landed on Jeonghan, the surprise was very noticeable. He immediately scrambles to sit up (a little too quickly to be considered comfortable judging from his current state), spluttering and absolutely failing to form coherent words.

His face twists in pain because of the abrupt action. It took everything in Jeonghan’s might to not snort out loud and say “shouldn’t have done that, you idiot.” Ladies and gents, this is why Jeonghan’s a villain.

“Coffee? Tea?” Jeonghan offers at Seungcheol’s flabbergasted expression. “Wait, coffee. I forgot I don’t have tea. Too bad if you want one. You’ll settle for coffee in the meantime. Beggars can’t be choosers.”

He removes his bum from the floor and stretches his muscles before making his way to the kitchen, not that much of a distance since his dining room slash kitchen is connected to the living room. He says absolutely nothing even though he could feel Seungcheol’s eyes burning holes to the back of his head, resorting to singing a quiet song to avoid having a completely silent apartment.

He returns with two hot mugs of black coffee minutes later and hands Seungcheol the other mug. Seungcheol mutters a quiet thank you and accepts it, taking a sip. A quiet sigh left his lips the moment the hot coffee entered his system and when he looked at Jeonghan, the said man was already staring at him.

“Okay, now that you’re awake, mind telling me what the fuck happened and why you decided to visit my humble abode?”

Seungcheol doesn’t say anything, sinking deeper into the blanket Jeonghan encased him with. The same blanket Jeonghan almost used as a murder weapon - how funny.

“It’s cold in here,” Seungcheol evaded his question and Jeonghan narrows his eyes at the hero. “Aren’t you cold?”

Jeonghan knows Seungcheol long enough to know that when he’s being like this, it means that he doesn’t feel comfortable sharing just yet. He doesn’t continue asking.

“Ironically, even though I am basically the winged version of Queen Elsa, the cold does bother me,” Jeonghan said pointedly. “But my heater broke down and I only have one blanket available.”

Seungcheol glances down at the blanket currently enveloping his body and glances back up at Jeonghan, seeing him eyeing it like fried chicken. Wordlessly, his hand reaches to tear it away from his body and hand it back to Jeonghan but the latter immediately stops him by grabbing his wrist.

He flinches the moment his skin comes in contact with Jeonghan’s. It’s just so abnormally cold - colder than a corpse. Jeonghan’s hand quickly unlatches from Seungcheol.

“Sorry, sorry,” Jeonghan mutters apologetically. “I’m doing a great job at absorbing the cold so keep the blanket. I can’t physically die of hypothermia but you can.”

Seungcheol hugs the blanket closer and it smells like Jeonghan that it terrifies him because he realized how much he missed this. He always smelled like summer - like ocean waves, sweat, mint shampoo, watermelon, and iced coconut juice - even though he’s literally a supervillain with the ability to create ice and snow and manipulate it as he wishes.

“I haven’t seen you the last two weeks,” Seungcheol notes.

The other shrugs nonchalantly. “Been busy lately. Trying to graduate and find cash and stuff.”

He throws his hands back, casually adding, “Man, I miss robbing a store.”

He’s not surprised to find a glare settling in Seungcheol’s face and laughter erupts from his throat.

“Stop doing crimes.”

“And what makes you think I’d listen to you?”

“Because I said so!”

“I don’t even listen to my mom dude.”

If the citizens witness this moment where their beloved hero is having a friendly banter with one of the city’s most loathed super villains, they’d be losing their heads. They’d also be shocked because only Yoon Jeonghan is capable of bringing this absolutely beautiful smile on their beloved hero’s face. And it’s only him who gets to witness it.

“Wait, what if I give them a warning? Like I’d say “hey dude, I’d kill you at four pm, catch ya later,” is that still considered murder?”

“Hannie, I believe that’s a threat.”

“Oh.”

For now, they are not heroes and villains, they are not enemies tasked to fight each other for their beliefs and everything they stand for. For now, they are just Yoon Jeonghan, a boy who can barely make ends meet, is too smart for his own good and has the coolest fingers, and Choi Seungcheol, a boy who stares at Jeonghan like he’s still in love with him, has shoulders that seemed to be carrying the weight of the world but nobody seems to notice it and easily has the most adorable smile in the universe.

“Wait, you mean to tell me you helped a grandma cross the street?!”

“Not important. Anyways, as I was saying, Seungkwan and I were--”

“I knew you had kindness buried deep in your system!” Seungcheol looks ecstatic for reasons unknown to Jeonghan. “No matter how much you say you’re evil. I know you’re a good person. Nobody just stays long enough to see it.”

“Oh?” Jeonghan raises a challenging brow. “So you’re implying that you stayed, Cheol? Because that’s not exactly what happened.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have said that, seeing as how Seungcheol’s face drops straight away. But his words just triggered something within him and it’s now climbing its way out for the world to witness.

“Hannie--”

“What bullshit,” he sneers. “Don’t make me laugh. If you knew, then tell me why did you leave?”

The words came freefalling out of his lips before he could stop. He always knew he was bitter - no matter what he says. He reaches for the pocket of his shorts and pulls out a small piece of paper, crumbled and seconds away from getting torn apart. In that paper, the sentence “I’m sorry but we’ll never work out. We’re on opposite sides.”

It’s either the city or him. Seungcheol chooses the city, of course. Jeonghan can’t even give him a thick blanket but the city can always offer more.

He notices Seungcheol visibly swallowing.

“You left and then you hated me and then you showed up here at ass o'clock and then you pretend like we’re still friends and--” Jeonghan chokes. “I don’t even know anymore.”

Cold. It feels so cold.

“I think I need you out.”

“Hannie--”

“ _ Out _ , Choi Seungcheol.”

Out of his apartment and hopefully, out of his life. Choi Seungcheol leaves the apartment without looking back once and there’s a part in Jeonghan that wishes he did. And then the next week, it was back to the ordinary. Jeonghan in his super villain fit robs a store, Seungcheol in all his superhero glory stops him but allows him to escape so he doesn’t get caught up with the police.

After all, it’s guys like Jeonghan who becomes the necessary antagonists so people like Seungcheol can be given glory. 


End file.
